Why is it in the News?

The project for anemia control under Mission Utkarsh will be a joint public health initiative by the Ministries of Ayush and Women and Child Development and will be launched in five aspirational districts first as a pilot project.

About Mission Utkarsh:

• Mission Utkarsh was launched in January 2022, a new initiative of “rapid improvement of selected Districts” to improve.
• Under this mission, 15 central ministries and departments are working to bring select key performance indicators in bottom districts to the state and national average.
• Over 94,000 adolescent girls between the age group of 14-18 years registered under Poshan Tracker at approximately 10,000 Anganwadi Centres will benefit in 12 12-month periods of the program.
• The coordinating agency for the project will be the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS).
• Classical Ayurveda medicines (Drakshavaleha and Punarnavadi mandoor) for better nutrition to improve the health of the anemic adolescent girls will be provided for a period of 3 months.
• These five districts are Dhubri in Assam, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Paschimi Singhbhum in Jharkhand, Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Dholpur in Rajasthan.
• Building research capacity through training, conferences, workshops, and seminars with the active participation of researchers of integrative healthcare would be enhanced.

What is Anaemia?

• According to WHO, anemia occurs when there is a lower-than-normal count of red blood cells or a reduced hemoglobin concentration within them, crucial for oxygen transport throughout the body.

Symptoms

• This condition leads to symptoms like fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and shortness of breath due to decreased oxygen-carrying capacity in the blood.

Causes:

• Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional cause, although deficiencies in folate, vitamins B12 and A can also contribute.
  • Chronic diseases like kidney or liver disease, cancer, and genetic conditions such as sickle cell anemia further exacerbate anemia.

Significance:

• Anaemia has significant implications, particularly affecting vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children under five, impacting reproductive health and reducing work capacity, thus posing an economic burden.

Anaemia in India:

• India faces a substantial anemia burden, with recent surveys indicating alarming prevalence rates among women aged 15-49 and children aged six months to five years, highlighting the urgent need for public health interventions.

Why is it in the News?

In a bid to deepen the bond market, the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday issued guidelines for lending and borrowing in government securities.

What are Government Securities?

• Government securities, also known as G-Secs, refer to the debt instruments issued by the government to finance its fiscal requirements.
• These securities are backed by the government’s guarantee of repayment and are considered risk-free investments.
• They are an integral part of the fixed-income market and are traded on the government securities market.
• Government securities serve as a means for the government to raise funds from the public to meet its expenditure needs, bridge budget deficits, and fund developmental projects.
• Investors who purchase these securities lend money to the government in return for regular interest payments and the principal amount at maturity.
• These securities come in mainly two categories:
  • Short-Term: Often known as “Treasury Bills,” these have initial maturities of less than a year.
  • Long-Term: Typically referred to as Government Bonds or Dated Securities, these have an original maturity of one year or more.
• In India, the Central Government issues both treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities, which are called State Development Loans (SDLs).

Treasury Bills (Short-Term G-Secs)

• Treasury Bills, commonly known as T-Bills, are short-term government securities with a maturity period of less than one year.
• They are issued at a discount to their face value and are highly liquid instruments.
• T-Bills serve as a mechanism for the government to efficiently manage its short-term funding requirements.

 Dated Securities (Long-Term G-Secs)

• Dated Securities are long-term government securities with a fixed maturity period, typically 5 to 40 years.
• They pay regular interest to investors, known as coupon payments, and return the principal amount at maturity.
• Dated Securities are vital for financing long-term projects and meeting government borrowing needs.

Why is it in the News?

The Central Government has approved a 10 thousand rupees interest-free Loan to the Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco growers in Andhra Pradesh.

What is Flue Cured Tobacco?

• There are three types of tobacco curing methods traditionally used: Air-Cured, Fire-Cured, and Flue-Cured.
• Each of the different curing methods results in a tobacco product that is distinguishable by both its nicotine content and its aroma.

Flue-Cured:

• Flue-curing tobacco is raised with a low level of nitrogen and harvested by priming method.
• Harvested leaves are strung on sticks which are then stacked into to flue curing barn.
• The barn is artificially heated.
• Green leaves should be loaded in the upper half of the barn and the lighter ones in the lower half.
• The three steps are Yellowing, Fixing the color, and Drying.

Grading:

• After curing, leaves are graded by sorting leaves into uniform lots according to body, color, and degree of blemish or damage.
  • The most important elements of quality in FCV tobacco are color, texture, size, blemish, strength, even burning with white ash, and agreeable flavor.

Why is Tobacco Cured?

• To create smoking tobacco, the tobacco leaves need to be cured, or dried out.
  • The wet, green tobacco leaves of a tobacco plant initially contain too much moisture to catch fire.
• They also have a higher chlorophyll content.
• By releasing a certain amount of chlorophyll from the leaves during the drying-out process, the natural tannins come out giving the smoked tobacco its flavor and scent.
• The curing process makes the leaf dry enough to smoke while increasing the sugar and natural tannins found in each leaf to create the sweetly aromatic and mild taste tobacco is known for.

Key Characteristics of Flue-cured Tobacco:

• • Produces primarily cigarette tobacco
  • Contains a high sugar content
  • Contains medium to high levels of nicotine
  • Rich in natural tannins which creates its distinct mild and slightly sweet flavor and aroma
• FCV tobacco is mainly produced in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in India.

Why is it in the News?

Specifically tailored to address the unique characteristics of foetal growth within the Indian population, India has finally got its locally made ‘Garbhini-GA2’, a groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence model. 

What is Garbhini-GA2?

• The Garbhini-GA2 model, developed as part of the DBT India initiative (GARBH-Ini) program by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, addresses the challenge of accurately estimating foetal age (gestational age, GA) in the Indian population, particularly in the second and third trimesters.
• Unlike existing formulas designed for Western populations, Garbhini-GA2 accounts for variations in foetal growth specific to the Indian context, significantly reducing estimation errors by nearly threefold.
• This innovative model is crucial for ensuring precise prenatal care and determining accurate delivery dates, thereby enhancing maternal and foetal health outcomes.
• Garbhini-GA2 marks a milestone as the first late-trimester GA estimation model validated using Indian population data, offering a tailored approach to foetal age determination that is essential for effective maternal healthcare."

About Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI):

• THSTI, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology, was founded in 2009 in Faridabad, Haryana, with a core commitment to advancing research beyond mere discovery.
• By fostering collaboration among diverse teams in medicine, science, and technology, THSTI leverages translational expertise to drive clinical research and innovation.
• In addition to its core mission, THSTI plays a pivotal role in fostering social innovation and entrepreneurial endeavors, particularly in the domain of maternal and child healthcare.

Why is it in the News?

A micro turbojet engine designed and developed indigenously by Hyderabad-based firm Raghu Vamsi Machine Tools with the support of the IIT Hyderabad has been unveiled.

Key Highlights of the Micro Turbojet Engine “INDRA RV25: 240N”:

• It is an indigenous micro turbojet engine made in India.
• Its primary focus is on serving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.
• Beyond UAVs, the engine exhibits versatile applications in air taxis, jetpacks, auxiliary power units, range extenders, and potential use in power generation for the future.
• Indigenous design and development: Engineered entirely in India by the Raghu Vamsi Machine Tools (RVMT) team of skilled engineers & supported by IIT, Hyderabad.
  • A great demonstration of the potential of Industry-Academia partnership
• Self-reliance and autonomy: By reducing reliance on imported technologies, components, and expertise, the Micro Turbojet Engine contributes to India’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in critical sectors, bolstering national security and economic resilience
• Empowering local manufacturing: The launch of the indigenous Micro Turbojet Engine not only drives technological innovation but also stimulates the growth of the domestic aerospace and defense manufacturing ecosystem, creating jobs and fostering economic growth.

What Is a Turbojet Engine and How Does It Work?

• Turbojet engines are jet engines that, like other jet engines, generate propulsion by discharging or expelling heated air.
• They feature a combustion chamber in which they burn fuel and air.
• As they burn this mixture, turbojet engines will discharge heated air.
• It can find turbojet engines in commercial airplanes, civilian airplanes, and military aircraft.

How Turbojet Engines Work?

• The process begins by drawing air through an intake.
  • Turbojet engines feature an air intake, which is typically located near the front of the engine.
  • Air will flow into this intake, at which point it will be redirected to the engine’s interior.
• After entering the engine, the air will become compressed.
  • Turbojet engines feature a set of rotating blades. Known as compressors, these rotating blades are designed to compress the air.
• The next step in the process is combustion which involves the burning of fuel and air.
  • Turbojet engines will inject fuel into the same combustion chamber where the compressed air is located.
  • A spark will then ignite the mixture of fuel and compressed air, thereby generating hot, high-pressure exhaust gas.
• The exhaust gas generated by the combustion is expelled out the rear of the turbojet engine.
  • This rearward expulsion allows for forward propulsion.
  • As the exhaust gas is discharged out the rear of the turbojet engine, the airplane will be propelled forward.